Community-led Street Design

December 8, 2015

Marks Gate Juniors Get Messy…

DIY Streets paid a visit to Marks Gate Junior School’s School Council in November. The pupils gave us their feedback on the concept designs we’ve displayed in the Marks Gate Community Centre and helped us to design some bespoke flagstones, which will feature in the Yellow Brick Road.

We found the images below and were inspired by them. They are from Golden Hill School in Lancashire, supported by artist Tracey Cartledge.

We ran two workshops at Marks Gate Junior School. During the first session we created a visual mind map, on which the children could develop their ideas for public art in Marks Gate; we discussed what we want to celebrate about Marks Gate, what we see on our journeys around Marks Gate and what we would like to see.

We then used our ideas to paint on Tiles with paint pens, developing our sketches into something more like a bespoke flagstone.

In the second workshop we discussed what we mean by public art. We found a great definition from the Association for Public Art, which says:

“Public art can express community values, enhance our environment, transform a landscape, heighten our awareness, or question our assumptions. Placed in public sites, this art is there for everyone, a form of collective community expression. Public art is a reflection of how we see the world—the artist’s response to our time and place combined with our own sense of who we are.”

We looked at some amazing images from around the world.

Then we turned our tiles into beautiful mosaics like the ones in Barcelona and Golden Hill School!

We look forward to developing these ideas into bespoke flagstones to be displayed in the Yellow Brick Road. Thanks to those who have taken the time to make their mark on Marks Gate. Please get in touch if you would like to know more about DIY Streets or tell us what you think about the concept designs.